I enjoyed meeting Deepa to take her portrait for my “working from home” project and I couldn’t help capturing her at work. She has a fairly small space but the work she creates there is incredible.
Have a look at her website here and see her amazing handcrafted jewellery here: https://melajewellery.com/
When Hewitsons contacted me to do the corporate headshots for all their staff on their four locations it was clear that it was essential that the headshots were uniform across the locations. We took the photos over four days, over two hundred people in total in four different cities, Cambridge, Northampton, Milton Keynes and London. When doing projects of this size and you need to deliver uniformity, you cannot leave things to chance. The light levels on each location will be different and knowing how to manipulate the light will be primordial to achieve a coherent look.
During a preliminary meeting, Marketing Manager Sarah Head gave me the brief and we agreed on a look that matches the corporate brand. Equipped with my Canon 85mm lens, backdrops and my trusty Profoto B1’s I started the task of shooting eighty-five people in their Cambridge office. Sarah had worked out a minute schedule. With five minutes per person, there is only enough time to work with the person so they feel at ease and you can take that perfect shot. With some people, you do not need five minutes. Sometimes the test shots were the ones we went for!
As time is such a critical factor when you are taking headshots on the client’s premises, I offer the client the chance to select the photos there on the spot and then through tethering the images straight to my laptop.
The days after the shoot was spent in postproduction. However useful Photoshop might be, when it comes to over 200 headshots you do want to get it right on the camera so the postproduction is minimal. Typically, I remove some minor imperfections on the image but do not touch the toning or lighting quality at all as I paid attention to create identical lighting for each image.
The collaboration with Sarah was very pleasant and effective. Thanks to her careful organisation, the shoots went so smooth and the atmosphere was relaxed resulting in high-quality headshots.
If you are looking for headshots for your staff, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I would love to hear from you.
Recently I have been asked to take some corporate portraits and some PR style images on location for Cambridge based company Annesley Gandon. Over the past several months, I noticed a big increase of enquiries for is PR style images and location portraits. I personally think on site photography is a great marketing tool and one of the easiest ways of communicating the vision of the company without words.
Showing the employees at work gives the clients a good sense of the company and how it feels to work with the particular team or department. I also believe that seeing people at work creates a rapport, builds trust and confidence.
I really enjoyed with Annesley Gandon team and they were extremely helpful and easy to work with. We created a range of portraits, headshots and PR style images for their website, annual reports and social media use. I don’t usually have behind the scene images but this time I was lucky to be photographed at work by the team.
Recently, I had the pleasure to meet David Kirkpatrick in my studio and I took a range of images for his new book. He is a New York Times writer based in London and used to be the New York Times bureau chief in Egypt. His book has just been published which is about the politics in the Middle East.
Here a few samples from the photo shoot which was very enjoyable!
The traditional studio headshot is classic and still a great way to represent ourselves. Still a powerful tool for marketing individuals and companies on websites or social media.
Business portraits tend to say a bit more about us as they are mostly taken in our natural environment, office or workspace.
Creating an online identity is very important for us all without a doubt. I believe a business portrait is a stronger tool to market ourselves as we can say a bit more about who we are, what we are doing and how we are doing. Our body language, office space, the tools we use are part of our branding and communicate our vision more effectively with business portraits.
We all have different needs and there is no solution will fit all. I’m a strong believer in branding and I like to reflect on every commission beforehand, which would be a better fit for each individual’s need, a traditional headshot or a business portrait.
Let me know which one fits your business model and feel free to get in touch to discuss your online identity.
A dream came true! Pepe Romero is one of the most respected classical artists of our age. His recordings and masterclasses have been an inspiration to many players and still continuing to be. Without getting too Wikipedia I better tell you the little story behind the photoshoot which is very special for me.
As a former Classical guitarist (a hobbyist now) I’ve always been an admirer to Pepe Romero’s artistry and musicianship.
The photoshoot took place in Antwerp – Belgium and literally 5 minutes including the setup as Pepe is very busy and his time is valuable.
I was very excited to set up very quickly in very difficult lighting conditions. The concert saloon had almost no ambient light. I used my trusty Elinchrom Quadra with a big umbrella to light him and the saloon as much as possible in limited time. Did my measurements and I had a few minutes to shoot the images. He was very friendly and nice to work with even though he was a bit tired as he had just finished a concert.
Here are some of the results I sent him today and his website if you like to explore more of his excellent music: https://peperomero.com/
I love location shots and this one was particularly a lot of fun. The shoot took place on Trinity Lane and I used strobes as the daylight wasn’t great. Thanks to my trusty battery powered lights which helped me a lot to make sure the team looks awesome!
We started early morning and the whole shoot took almost a full day. This is only the location part of the shoot and we also took some indoor office shots and some groups shots for their online presence, even some fun shots for their social media use.
Location shots are not only a bit of fresh air, it might also add a lot of character and personality to your images. They can change the whole mood of the images and make them look more distinctive and personable. Cambridge Family Law practice obviously a Cambridge Based company and having their images taken on this very classic Cambridge background is a great branding move which I admire.
Here are some of the example images from the shoot:
Overall, It was great to work with such a fun and creative team as they are very easy to work with and I’m very happy with the results as a professional photographer!
Please get in touch if you need some professional corporate headshots in Cambridge. I would love to hear from you!
It’s been a while since I have posted my last blog post and I’m quite excited to write about one of my latest Fashion shoot in my Cambridge studio.
First of all, I must say I was very fortunate to work with Leigh Rawlins who is a great Cambridge based Fashion Designer and the art director of the shoot. Here is a backstage shot of her and our fantastic model Elsa:
I used matching colour backdrops with the collections and quite a flat soft lighting.
The whole collection has very distinctive Buddha figures, different patterns on different materials and I was captivated with Leigh’s creativity of the design of whole set. What a talent!
The whole shoot took almost four hours and it was a lot of fun. I personally enjoyed very much as a photographer and It was really a rich experience to work with a great designer, make up artist and the model.
I’m sure the new collection will be a great success and look forward to seeing it very soon. This is what I enjoy most as a professional photographer, seeing the work we create with a team effort makes a difference to my clients experiences.
I will keep you guys posted when Leigh updates her website to see the final images as well.
Please contact me for your fashion shoot enquiries in my studio or on Location. info@onurpinar.com
Professional headshots are great if you:
· Already have a business or are about to start one. Headshots can be used on your website, business cards, in email signatures, newsletters, banners. They can help you to create your branding. After all, people always prefer to know who they are doing business with.
· Are looking for a job and want to use it on social media;
· Are interested in online dating and want to impress;
· Need an update of an existing headshot. Faces and hairstyles change, so it is worth updating your headshots every few years to reflect this.
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. A photo that you have taken yourself will, quite simply, look like you’ve taken it yourself. Using your own camera, even if it’s a high-quality one, won’t allow you to capture that moment just before you laugh, or that glint in your eye as you talk about your passions.
The same goes for photographs that your friends take of you. Unless they are experienced photographers themselves, they will likely lack the skills and expertise that are necessary in order to convey your message.
A professional photographer, on the other hand, will use their expertise to capture your personality. They do this in the way they position you, and in what they say to you in order to evoke those warm, spontaneous expressions that make you look approachable and professional.
Their in-depth knowledge of lighting and composition, combined with high-quality equipment, that can be adjusted and controlled as the need arises, will capture you at your very best. These things just cannot be replaced by a home-made photo.
“Onur is very personable and professional and the session was fun. I loved that I received the photos the same day and I now have a much more confident online presence” Alexandre Winkels – Cambridge University Lecturer
If you’re thinking about a headshot, you might want to consider a professional to do it for you. Why not having a look at my headshot gallery or Contact me for a free consultation.
